The company's statement was cautious about the coming year, saying that pressure on consumers' budgets and rising commodity prices would make conditions "increasingly challenging".

Despite rising costs, M&S predicted that the profit it takes from every pound will be 0.25 percentage points higher than it was last year, although it did not specify how it plans to achieve the cost cutting that will require.

The company added that it was planning to increase its store space in the UK by about 2% and overseas by about 10%.

Last week, it announced plans to return to the French market, 10 years after closing its stores in Western Europe.